OUR EXCHANGES.

THE PROBLEM OF FATE.

We copy the following article from Modern Astrology, edited by Alan Leo, P. A. S., and published by the Astrological Publishing Co., 9, Lyncroft Gardens, London, N. W., England. In point of ability, reliability, and enterprise this magazine is, we believe, the leading astrological journal. No matter what place Astrology now holds or may have held in public estimation, Alan Leo seems in a fair way to dignify it as a science worthy of modern study and investigation. The article copied is the leading article of the last issue of Modern Astrology.-[Ed.

One of the objections to Astrology frequently raised by its opponents is that it teaches fatalism and denies free-will; but never was there a greater misconception than this.

Natal Astrology indicates truly the fate the man has made for himself, but at the same time also it shows the measure of his free-will within this fate. On the surface this statement may appear paradoxical, for how can a man be free and yet under the compulsion of a compelling fate, an inexorable destiny?

In our endeavor to throw some light on this mighty problem that has taxed the brains and vexed the minds of many for hundreds of years, we must take into consideration three fac tors-man as human and divine, and also the law of reincarnation, or in other words, the great law of cause and effect, with the planetary spirits for its ministers and adjudicators.

If we study man's divine nature, we are bound to recognize free-will as an attribute thereof, otherwise his divinity would be limited; this divinity, or seed of God, if we may so term it, is the nucleus derived from his "Divine progenitor." Now the Will of God is all-compelling, representing "Force all-pervading, all-directing, thus irresistible."

"Man is made in the image of God," therefore there must be in him, though in germinal form, the same will; therefore freedom of choice, i. e., power to decide. Thus the will of man,

though more or less latent, is yet free, being in each individual an offshoot of the Universal Will.

How is it, then, we find fate or bondage colliding with it? How can the free be limited? Until we study the law of cause and effect, or what the Eastern nations term Karma and Reincarnation, the paradox cannot be explained, but taking this factor into consideration, the problem can be solved. We see that man in the exercise of his free-will chooses his own conditions, makes his own fate, joy or sorrow.

As was stated at the commencement of this article, man must be considered as dual-human, yet divine and immortal As a mortal he has strong desires, passions and appetites. At his present stage of evolution he is more or less enslaved by his animal nature and instincts. The desire nature responding to contacts from without, is as yet more active than the will from within, which, remember, though free, is yet in germ form, latent and potential rather than actual-the “acorn which is to become the oak" eventually.

If we look at all the kingdoms lower than the human-the animal for instance they are entirely compelled by a law from without, under compulsion on all sides. To man alone is given the freedom of choice necessary for the evolution of a discriminative and self-conscious intelligence. He learns by painful experience at first in his earlier stages to act more wisely in future. The very pain he causes himself by foolish action or wrong choice, gives him the necessary experience, which means eventually wisdom.

Man is left free to do exactly as he pleases, to kill or heal, to bless or curse, to be sensual or pure, avaricious or charitable, kind or selfish, only since the choice is the man's own he must also take the consequences which accrue to these actions, either in the current life or the succeeding one.

Just in the same way if we fall asleep at night owing anyone a debt and when we awake totally forget the occurrence, in time the bill will be presented and will have to be paid; for we incurred it, and are therefore responsible for it. We chose the object of attraction, and naturally have to pay the price demanded. A man has free will to commit murder or suicide, but

having used his will in these ignoble directions, he has to pay the penalty, and take the suffering occasioned by such actions. Any person can use his will to become a glutton, or fast until the body dies through exhaustion, but in either case certain consequences ensue and the person has to bear the burden of his own actions. If a man puts his hand into the fire (and he is free to do so) he will assuredly be burnt, but that is not the fault of the fire, but a misuse of the man's free will; the fate part or necessity is the pain and disfigurement the man suffers. We know the old saying: "A burnt child dreads the fire,” and indeed in the earlier stages of human growth it is certain that knowledge by suffering entereth," for in the very early days of our humanity the race were chiefly child souls, in their infant stage, with free will but without knowledge, and thus they contracted debts by breaking the laws of nature in the physical as well as in the moral world, and these debts, even though contracted in ignorance, must be paid when the time for settlement arrives.

Here comes in fate or destiny; looking deeper into the matter we find it is by our own actions in the past, outraging the Law of Harmony, that we come into the world with a great load of so-called fate to be worked off.

Then again, we are born with a certain kind of mind and a certain kind of desire-nature, refined or otherwise as the case may be, but we created these conditions; by our past thoughts we shaped and fashioned our present form, and if it is not to our liking to-day we have none to blame but ourselves.

Our character, with its deficiencies or excellences, its limitation or exuberance, virtues or vices, is the chief factor in destiny; character is destiny. Truly there is compulsion or necessity in all this, but it is "self-made." It is also true that a man with a small mind and evil propensities, born necessarily into a coarse environment, cannot lead the same kind of life as a man of virtuous inclinations born amid pure surroundings; each is under Fate compelled by necessity, though self-made, but within that very fate lies again the power of a new choice. If we make any habit for ourselves, that habit becomes a compelling force, so that at last we do the thing almost unconsciously;

should we desire to change our action, we have at first to make a great effort, with much expenditure of energy and discomfort. Still that we can make the change at will is in itself proof of that will being free; "the stars incline, but they do not compel." They are time markers, indicators of our past—the road we have travelled, the way we have lived, the seed we have sown; they mark out our conditions and reflect us to ourselves. We call this heritage of the past our fate, and it is a very potent thing indeed; in our lives we think on certain lines to-day, because it was our habit to do so when we lived before. We act in certain ways to-day, because our past thoughts impel our energies in that direction.

Still under all limitations or bondage the Will or living power is there. The Soul that made the past is here again in the present; as he made the past, so, if he wills, he can undo it, for he is the thinker, and however heavy the bonds of fate may be that he has woven in the past, he who made can alter, he who bound can unbind.

For within all incrustations, "the evolving God is there," evolving from latency to potency. However thick the darkness, behind it is the light, however heavy his fate may be he can outwear his past and reach liberty.

As we slowly realize that we make our own fate, by the use of our own free-will, we shall seek to become wise; knowing that we can control our desires, our thoughts and by this means our destiny, we shall strive to do so. The future we are making is in our own hands to-day. Let us seek the light of knowledge to dispel the darkness of ignorance and illusion, for only as we change ignorance into knowledge can we overcome necessity.

As we grow in knowledge, fate becomes less and less our master; for we learn to choose the good and REFUSE the evil.

We are to-day hampered by fate, but by knowledge we may overcome it; for knowledge is power on any plane of the Universe, and as we slowly realize the great moral laws of God's Universe we choose to obey them; freedom comes when we seek to know the will of God and do it. Then fate will be overcome, for then we shall see truth as God sees it and "the truth shall make us free."

By the abuse of our free-will we make our fate. By free-will linked to knowledge we overcome it, and thus become Masters of our Destiny.-Bessie Leo.

THE MOON WITHIN FORTY MILES.

The man in the moon, who came down too soon, as we are in'ormed by that veracious astronomical chronicler, Mother Goose, is coming down again, practically, at the Paris Exposition, provided the great telescope now making is a success. The projectors of the enterprise assert they will bring the moon within forty miles by means of their apparatus, and it really begins to look as if there was a chance to do so, for the great seven-foot mirror is almost ready, and the lenses, after repeated failures, are ground and perfect.

The basis of comparison for a telescope is the object-glass, and the only lenses to which those of the Grande Lunette can be compared are those of the Yerkes telescope, at Lick Observatory, in California, and the gigantic Grünwald instrument that was shown at the Berlin Exposition. The Yerkes objectglass is three feet five inches in diameter, and the Grünwald glass measures three feet seven inches across. The object-glasses of the Grande Lunette are four feet in diameter. These are the largest object-glasses ever cast and ground successfully. The completed telescope will not be subjected to the restrictions imposed on the other big telescopes of the world by the difficulties of mechanical construction. That is to say, a telescope as large as the Yerkes, for instance, is mounted on a framework of complicated mechanism and held up by a tremendous foundation. The Yerkes, which fell once before it was finally placed, was restricted to sixty-five feet in length because of the mechanical difficulties in handling an instrument longer and heavier. That is not the full focal distance of its object-glass. The Yerkes telescope does not do what it might.

To circumvent the difficulty and give the four-foot object-glass of the Paris telescope its full focal power of one hundred and ninety-five feet, the telescope will lie flat along the ground. It will be stationary. The image of the star or other heavenly body to be examined will be caught by a seven-foot mirror, reflected on the object-glass and seen as perfectly as if the great glass were pointed at the sky. By ingenious mechanism at both the eye-piece and under the mirror, it will be possible to catch